Getting Back on the Horse

Just as the downfall of my first business began to wrap up, I stumbled upon a new opportunity. Being that failure is really just a fancy word for experience, I took advantage of what I gained from my first venture (lessons learned, connections made, work ethic established) and began fleshing out a friend’s idea for a business sock. I finally felt comfortable getting back on the horse.

Chris is a passionate salesman with a busy job. He’s on his feet all day dashing between work, business school, and family. He and his friends share the sentiment that the current offering of business socks simply don’t meet the needs of business professionals. He was enthusiastic about rocking the boat within the industry, but he needed help. So he asked his brother Tim and I to launch the concept with him since we had run businesses before and brought other unique skills to the table.

For months we laid the groundwork: we contacted sock mills, spoke with retail and e-commerce professionals, crafted a brand identity, and studied sock materials and lingo. We vowed to be selling socks in 2014.

Two weeks ago, we launched a Kickstarter for GoodFoot to raise the funds for our first production run. It made sense for us to crowd-source the concept as a way to simultaneously validate the need and establish a presence. It has been a great learning experience in utilizing our networks, creating digital reach and virality, and building relationships with our consumers.

A month from now our campaign closes, and we hope to hit the ground running with our first production run shipping out in June! It’s going to be a whirlwind for a few months, but I, for one, am ready to take on the challenges and the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship. I’ve missed it.